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Rays Reportedly Sign Edwin Uceta To Minor League Deal

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The Rays and right-hander Edwin Uceta have agreed to a minor league deal, per reporter Francys Romero. Romero adds that the deal includes an invite to Spring Training.

Uceta first signed with the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic back in 2016, and after climbing the organizational ladder eventually made his big league debut in 2021. Across 20 1/3 innings of work, Uceta struck out an impressive 27.2% of batters faced but struggled with his control, walking 13%. Those control issues combined with an unusually low 48.5% strand rate left Uceta with a 6.64 ERA despite a decent 4.40 FIP. That led the Dodgers to designate Uceta for assignment the following offseason, at which point he was picked up by the Diamondbacks.

Uceta’s time in Arizona was largely more of the same. While he got is control issues somewhat under control and saw his walk rate drop to 9.6%, Uceta struck out just 17.8% of batters faced during his 17 innings in the desert, pitching to a 5.82 ERA and 4.52 FIP while posting a similarly low 52.1% strand rate. The Diamondbacks eventually designated him for assignment themselves in early 2023 to make room for Evan Longoria on the 40-man roster. That set Uceta off on an organizational carousel. Throughout 2023, the right-hander was claimed by the Tigers, Pirates, Mets and Cubs before finally passing through outright waivers successfully in August.

Among those four organizations, he only appeared with the Mets in the major leagues, striking out three while walking two and hitting a batter across three scoreless innings. Most recently, Uceta has impressed across six starts in the Dominican Winter League, pitching to a 2.55 ERA across 24 2/3 innings of work. Looking ahead to the 2024 campaign, Uceta will join an organization known for its pitching development successes. With Tampa Bay, Uceta figures to get the chance to pitch his way into a big league bullpen role and establish himself as a major league regular for the first time in his career. Meanwhile, the Rays have the opportunity to work with a player on the periphery of the big leagues who comes with five years of team control, though he figures to be out of options entering the 2024 season, meaning he’ll need to stick on the club’s active roster if added.

Rays Acquire Jake Mangum As PTBNL From Bruján/Faucher Trade

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The Rays announced that they have acquired outfielder Jake Mangum as the PTBNL in last month’s deal that sent infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján and right-hander Calvin Faucher to the Marlins. The Rays received minor league infielder Erick Lara, right-hander Andrew Lindsey and a player to be named later, which is now revealed to be Mangum. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reported the transaction shortly before the official announcement.

Remarkably, Mangum was also a PTBNL in a deal almost exactly one year ago. On December 7 of 2022, it was reported that he would go from the Mets to the Marlins as the PTBNL in the deal that sent Elieser Hernández and Jeff Brigham to Queens.

He spent 2023 in Triple-A, getting into 119 games at that level. He only struck out in 17.7% of his plate appearances but also only drew walks at a 5.4% clip and hit just five home runs. His .298/.346/.425 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 93. But Mangum is considered a plus defender and baserunner, stealing 16 bases on the year. His bat has also been in better shape before, such as hitting .306/.363/.441 in the minors in 2022 across multiple levels.

The Rays have a solid big league outfield at the moment but guys like Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena have been in trade rumors this winter. Whether they subtract an outfielder or not, Mangum will give them an extra bit of non-roster depth.

Braves, Dodgers Have Shown Interest In Tyler Glasnow

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Tyler Glasnow remains on the Rays coming out of what had been a fairly quiet Winter Meetings until recently. That doesn’t mean trade talks have slowed down, however, as the 6’8″ righty is one of the sport’s highest-profile trade candidates.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that upwards of half the league has been in contact with the front office on Glasnow’s availability. Topkin lists the Dodgers and Braves among that group, while some teams within the AL East have also inquired on the possibility of an intra-division swap.

Atlanta has spent the past few weeks searching for rotation help. The Braves have brought in Reynaldo López with an eye towards a possible rotation move. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos recently noted that the starting staff still “has room” for an addition (link via Mark Bowman of MLB.com).

The Braves have Spencer Strider, Max Fried and Charlie Morton locked into three spots. López, Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver and Dylan Dodd are among the in-house options for the last two roles. Last year’s first round pick Hurston Waldrep could factor into the mix at some point. There’s talent but also room for one more impact arm as a finishing touch on arguably the sport’s best roster.

Los Angeles has been mentioned as a team to watch on almost every starting pitcher of note, so it’s little surprise they’ve also checked in on Glasnow. The Dodgers’ starting staff is headlined by Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller with very little certainty beyond that duo. They’re clearly going to acquire multiple starting pitchers; Glasnow is one of myriad possibilities.

Atlanta and the Dodgers are far from the only teams still in the bidding. The Angels are hunting for a top-end starter and have been involved on Glasnow. The Cubs have been a frequently mentioned suitor over the last few weeks. Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that they’re still in the mix.

Rays, Erasmo Ramirez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Rays are bringing veteran righty Erasmo Ramirez back for another stint with the organization, as the two parties have agreed to a minor league contract, per the club’s transaction log at MLB.com. Presumably, Ramirez will be in big league camp next spring and vie for a spot on the roster.

Ramirez, 33, split the 2023 season between the Nationals and Rays — his second stint with them. The right-hander debuted with the Mariners back in 2012, was traded to Tampa Bay in 2015 in exchange for lefty Mike Montgomery, and then returned to the Rays this past season after being released by Washington.

In 33 1/3 innings with Tampa Bay this past season, Ramirez was tagged for an unsightly 6.48 earned run average. However, he posted a 20.3% strikeout rate and excellent 4.7% walk rate while also inducing grounders at a solid 43.6% clip. The strikeout rate was below average, but Ramirez’s command and ability to minimize hard contact still create some optimism for a turnaround. He was plagued by an awful .379 average on balls in play with the Rays despite yielding a lower-than-average 87.3 mph average exit velocity and 37.3% hard-hit rate. That’s not to say that all of Ramirez’s struggles were due to fluky luck on balls in play — he also allowed 1.89 homers per nine frames, for instance — but that was certainly a factor to some extent.

As recently as the 2022 campaign, Ramirez notched an excellent 2.92 ERA in 86 1/3 innings with the Nats. He’s pitched 828 1/3 innings at the MLB level and carries a career 4.37 ERA with an 18.1% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. Now entering his mid-30s, Ramirez shouldn’t be expected to improve much upon last year’s 92 mph average fastball velocity, but his sharp command, knack for weak contact and experience as a starter, multi-inning reliever and single-inning reliever make him a sensible add for a Rays staff that habitually cycles through depth options on the pitching staff. That’ll be even more important in 2024, when Tampa Bay will be trying to recover from major elbow surgeries for Shane McClanahan (Tommy John surgery), Jeffrey Springs (TJS) and Drew Rasmussen (internal brace).

2023 Rule 5 Draft Results

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The 2023 Rule 5 draft will begin at 1pm Central time today at the Winter Meetings in Nashville.

As a refresher, the Rule 5 draft is a way for players potentially talented enough for the big leagues but blocked by their current clubs to find opportunities elsewhere. Any players that were 18 and under at the time of their original signing and have played five professional seasons, and any players who signed at 19 years of age or older at signing that now have four professional seasons, who are not on a club’s 40-man roster are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

The clubs will draft in reverse order of the 2023 standings, with no club obligated to make a selection when it’s their turn. If they do make a pick, they will have to pay $100K to the team they select from. The selected players must stay on the active roster (or injured list) for the entire 2024 season or else be placed on waivers. If they clear waivers, they must be offered back to their original team. They cannot be optioned to the minors. Last year’s edition saw some key players change clubs, such as Ryan Noda going from the Dodgers to the Athletics and Blake Sabol going from the Pirates to the Giants.

This post will be updated as the draft continues. Here is the order…

1.  Athletics: RHP Mitch Spence (Yankees)
2. Royals: RHP Matt Sauer (Yankees)
3. Rockies: RHP Anthony Molina (Rays)
4. White Sox: LHP Shane Drohan (Red Sox)
5. Nationals: SS Nasim Nuñez (Marlins)
6. Cardinals: RHP Ryan Fernandez (Red Sox)
7. Angels: pass
8. Mets: RHP Justin Slaten (Rangers); Mets later traded Slaten to the Red Sox for LHP Ryan Ammons* and cash considerations.
9. Pirates: pass
10. Guardians: 3B Deyvison De Los Santos (Diamondbacks)
11. Tigers: pass
12. Red Sox: pass
13. Giants: pass
14. Reds: pass
15. Padres: RHP Stephen Kolek (Mariners)
16. Yankees: pass
17. Cubs: pass
18. Marlins: pass
19. Diamondbacks: pass
20. Twins: pass
21. Mariners: pass
22. Blue Jays: pass
23. Rangers: RHP Carson Coleman (Yankees)
24. Phillies: pass
25. Astros: pass
26. Brewers: pass
27. Rays: pass
28. Dodgers: pass
29. Orioles: pass
30. Braves: pass

The minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft also occurred this afternoon. Those players will not go onto the selecting teams’ 40-man roster. A few former major leaguers changed uniforms. They include 1B Seth Beer going from the Diamondbacks to the Pirates while the Yankees took RHP Kervin Castro from the Astros.

* (Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Ammons was going to the Mets. Joel Sherman of The New York Post added that Ammons and cash were being exchanged for Slaten.

Latest On Christopher Morel, Tyler Glasnow

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7:45pm: Nightengale tweets that while Morel’s name has come up in discussions on Glasnow, the Cubs are reluctant to move him for a player with one year of team control. Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic, on the other hand, write that Morel has not come up in any recent discussions about Glasnow.

3:34pm: The Cubs are one of many clubs to have known interest in Rays’ right-hander Tyler Glasnow and Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports today that Christopher Morel’s name has surfaced in those talks.

It’s unclear which club decided to make Morel part of the negotiations but it was reported last month that the Cubs were willing to make Morel part of the return in a potential Pete Alonso trade. Perhaps Morel has been squeezed out of the plan in Wrigley and the club is shopping him around to see what he could bring in return.

The tricky thing with Morel is that he has tremendous power in his bat but doesn’t have a perfect spot to fit onto the Cubs’ roster. He’s hit 42 home runs in his first 854 plate appearances, despite a 31.6% strikeout rate. His .241/.311/.471 batting line thus far translates to a wRC+ of 114. But attempts to have him line up defensively at shortstop, third base or the outfield haven’t gone well. His work at second base is passable but the Cubs have a set middle infield of Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner.

It was reported about a month ago that the Cubs would get Morel some first base reps in winter ball, though that wouldn’t be an ideal fit for him either since he has 99th percentile arm strength. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at that time that “another team might be able to put him” at second base.

It seems as though the Cubs may feel as though the best use of the talent on their roster is to explore trades for Morel and perhaps address first base in some other way. He still has five years of club control remaining and hasn’t yet reached arbitration, which should give him plenty of appeal. It was reported earlier today that the club is discussing various contract structures with first baseman Rhys Hoskins. If they can get something done there and also flip Morel for some pitching help, perhaps that is a preferable path to paying for pitching and using Morel at first base.

That will naturally depend on how the talks proceed and whether the Rays want Morel to be the center of any Glasnow return. The Rays have a solid second baseman in Brandon Lowe. He has missed some time due to injuries in the past two seasons but has still been able to hit at an above-average rate. He’s also controlled at an affordable rate through 2024 with a couple of reasonable club options after that. The club also has Isaac Paredes and Jonathan Aranda as guys on the roster capable of playing second.

Acquiring Morel is probably not the first choice for the Rays, given their incumbent infield options. Though they are considering moving Glasnow and his $25MM salary, they have obvious rotation needs and will need to think about bringing in cheaper pitching in the event they pull the trigger on a trade. With each of Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs set to miss most or all of the 2024 season due to elbow surgeries, the rotation isn’t in great shape. They still have Glasnow, Zach Eflin and Aaron Civale but some question marks beyond that. But Glasnow’s salary and perpetual payroll concerns in Tampa might lead them to try to balance saving money while still running out a talented roster.

The Rays are generally unafraid to make deals and could perhaps also flip Lowe for pitching in addition to acquiring Morel in a Glasnow deal, though that would require further conversations with other clubs and it might be easier if they just have an offer that involves a younger pitcher coming to them directly in a Glasnow deal. It’s also possible that the Cubs and Rays discussed larger trade scenarios involving more than just Glasnow and Morel, as clubs often consider all kinds of plausible scenarios at this time of year.

The Rays have also received interest from clubs such as the Cardinals and Reds while there are also plenty of other speculative fits. Some of those clubs may be pursuing big free agents like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery and may pivot to the trade market if they come up short there. Perhaps the Rays will wait to see if they can get a few more clubs on the line after the free agent market moves a bit more, but they could also strike quickly if they find a deal that they truly like.

Rays Re-Sign Chris Devenski

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The Rays are bringing back a member of their late-season relief corps, announcing Tuesday that they’ve re-signed veteran righty Chris Devenski to a one-year contract with a club option for the 2025 season. Devenski will reportedly be guaranteed $1.1MM in the form of a $1MM salary and $100K buyout on a $2MM option. There are incentives baked into each year of the contract, which also contains escalators in 2024 that can boost the base value of the option.

The deal marks a reunion between the two parties, as Devenski closed out the 2023 season on Tampa Bay’s big league roster after signing a Major League contract in late August. Devenski spent the bulk of the season in the Angels’ bullpen, pitching to a 5.08 ERA with more encouraging secondary marks (23.6% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate, 46.3% grounder rate).

As has been the case so many times in the past, a match with the Rays helped him unlock better results. It’s admittedly a small sample, but Devenski yielded just two runs on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in 8 2/3 frames following the change of scenery. With Tampa Bay, he leaned on his longtime plus changeup even harder, throwing it at a career-high 56.5% clip.

Early in his career, Devenski was an absolute powerhouse with the Astros, pitching to a 2.38 ERA with a 28.2% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate in 189 innings over the life of 110 appearances (five starts, 105 relief outings) from 2016-17. Devenski’s numbers backed up in 2018-19 as he became extremely susceptible to home runs (1.71 HR/9) and also battled a hamstring injury. Elbow soreness wiped out the majority of the already-shortened 2020 season for him, and Devenski underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021. He struggled mightily through 14 2/3 innings between the D-backs and Phillies in his 2022 return.

This past season was Devenski’s first year with at least 15 big league frames since 2019. His 94 mph average fastball was right in line with peak levels, and he posted better-than-average swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates (13% and 33.3%, respectively). He’ll give the Rays a low-cost bullpen flier for as many as two seasons.

Devenski joins a deep Rays bullpen mix that also includes Pete Fairbanks, Jason Adam, Andrew Kittredge, Colin Poche, Kevin Kelly, Shawn Armstrong, Garrett Cleavinger and waiver claim Tyler Alexander. Righties Colby White and Manuel Rodriguez are all on the 40-man roster, too, though each has minor league options remaining. Most of the relievers in the Tampa Bay bullpen are far from household names, as is common for the Rays, but every name listed (minus Alexander, White and Rodriguez) had an ERA of 3.09 or better in the majors this past season.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the agreement and length of the deal. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported the financial terms.

East Notes: Rays, Phillies, Nationals

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Several Rays players have come up in trade rumors recently, with the team currently set to run a payroll well north of $100MM, far higher than the $70MM to $90MM range they have sat in for the past three seasons. Among those trade candidates are Tyler Glasnow, whose $25MM salary makes him far and away the highest-paid player on the roster, and Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes, each of whom is sure to earn a sizeable raise in arbitration this winter.

However, president of baseball operations Erik Neander threw some cold water on the rumors surrounding Arozarena and Paredes on Monday. While the Rays seem to be actively shopping Glasnow, the executive clarified that the team is merely listening to offers for the left fielder and third baseman (per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). Fielding trade proposals is simply standard operating procedure and a matter of due diligence for an MLB front office, especially for a team like Tampa Bay that is often highly active on the trade market.

That doesn’t mean either player won’t be traded this offseason, but it’s a meaningful distinction nonetheless. Arozarena and Paredes are still an excellent value in their early years of arbitration, and the Rays aren’t desperate to get either one off the books.

More news from around MLB’s East divisions…

  • Turning to the NL East, Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Phillies are planning to pick up a bullpen piece this offseason, and they’re also considering an outfield acquisition. It’s no surprise the Phillies are looking for another reliever, in light of Craig Kimbrel’s departure in free agency, but the note about an outfielder is slightly more revealing; after all, the three primary outfielders from the team’s 2023 postseason roster are all set to return in 2024. Indeed, with Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, and Johan Rojas already on the roster, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski would only add another outfielder if he finds the “right fit” (as relayed by Coffey). Perhaps that means another impact bat to take over full-time duties in left field while Marsh platoons with Rojas in center.
  • While the Nationals aren’t likely to contend in 2024, president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo is still planning to improve the on-field product. “I think we’re going to be aggressive again this year looking for a bat that can play the corner infield, be it third base or first base or DH or left field, or a combination of all three of those,” the executive told reporters during the Winter Meetings. “And then we’ll resort back to getting more pitching” (per Mark Zuckerman of MASN). Of particular interest, Rizzo also mentioned that the team is prepared to offer multi-year contracts “in the right situation,” which isn’t always common for teams in the middle of a rebuild. Over the previous three offseasons, the Nationals have only signed one free agent to a multi-year deal: Trevor Williams, who signed a two-year, $13MM deal last December.

Trade Notes: Cease, Glasnow, Braves

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The free agent market for pitchers has been much more active than for position players so far this winter. Seven of MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents have signed new deals, and six have been pitchers: Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, Reynaldo López, Nick Martinez, and Luis Severino. Moreover, 11 different pitchers have already signed for $10MM or more; no position player has crossed the eight-figure threshold.

Still, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto unlikely to sign during the Winter Meetings, it’s possible the market for starting pitching could slow down, as suitors wait for Yamamoto to make his decision and other frontline starters (namely Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery) wait for Yamamoto to set the going rate. With that in mind, perhaps the various starting pitchers on the trade block will draw even more attention during the next four days.

Indeed, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that the market for 2022 Cy Young runner-up Dylan Cease is “robust,” noting that the Dodgers, Braves, and Orioles – among other teams – are involved in trade talks with the White Sox. Further clubs that have been linked to Cease in recent days include the Mets and Cardinals.

Last week, Morosi reported that discussions around Cease had “intensified” and suggested a deal before the Winter Meetings was “increasingly possible.” However, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic threw cold water on that rumor, reporting that White Sox general manager Chris Getz would most likely wait to trade Cease until more of the top free agent starters were off the board. While no further frontline starters have signed in the last few days, Morosi’s report about the robust market for Cease at the Winter Meetings is enough to rekindle speculation about a potential trade in the coming days. After all, if the White Sox have their eye on any particular trade chips, they’d be smart to strike before those chips are spent on Tyler Glasnow or Shane Bieber instead.

Some more trade-related news from around baseball…

  • Speaking of Glasnow, the Rays starter is generating a great deal of interest, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. While it shouldn’t come as any surprise that plenty of teams would love the right-hander in their rotation – he had a 3.53 ERA and 3.08 SIERA in 21 starts last season – it is noteworthy that he’s drawing so much interest so soon. His $25MM salary for the 2024 season is much more than Cease or Bieber will earn in arbitration, and there are plenty of free agent pitchers available who will only cost money, rather than money and prospects. Evidently, however, his talent is enough to outweigh his price tag.
  • Speaking on a Zoom call with members of the media, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos emphasized that the team is not planning to trade any of its young players signed to long-term extensions (as relayed by Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). While Anthopoulos qualified his statement with the caveat of “special circumstances,” the executive stressed with “absolute, fierce confidence” that he is “extremely unlikely” to trade anyone from his cost-controlled young core. That group includes Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider, and 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr., all of whom are under team control through at least the 2027 season.

East Notes: Red Sox, Mets, Taylor, Arozarena

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The Red Sox are known to be interested in adding to the front of their rotation this winter, though Alex Speier of the Boston Globe suggests that desire could come with a major caveat. Speier relays that the club prefers to avoid signing a player attached to a Qualifying Offer. President of baseball operations Craig Breslow neither confirmed nor denied that preference when asked about it by reporters, acknowledging that while there are instances where a player being attached to draft pick compensation “shouldn’t be an impediment or deterrent,” there are also other situations where a QO could be an obstacle.

Of course, such a preference wouldn’t completely shut the door on a top-of-the-market arm for the Red Sox. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery isn’t attached to draft pick compensation after being dealt from the Cardinals to the Rangers midseason, while posted NPB stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga are both free of a qualifying offer as well. With both Sonny Gray and Aaron Nola already having signed long-term deals this offseason, a preference to avoid signing qualified free agents for their rotation would really only take Boston out of the running for left-hander Blake Snell, who rejected a QO from the Padres earlier this offseason. While the Red Sox have also reportedly been connected to two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani this offseason, previous reporting indicates that the club is no longer pursuing the offseason’s top free agent.

More from around MLB’s East divisions…

  • On the heels of a report earlier today that the Mariners are among the teams interested in Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes this offseason, Jon Morosi of MLB Network indicates that outfielder Randy Arozarena is also believed to have come up in discussions between the two clubs. There’s no indication that a deal between the sides is particularly close, as is the case with Paredes. That said, it’s noteworthy that the sides have discussed a deal around Arozarena, who Morosi described as “available” in trade. Earlier this week, reporting indicated that while teams have inquired after Arozarena, the Rays weren’t shopping the outfielder. Arozarena, 28, would be a particularly good fit for a Mariners club that lacks a surefire starting outfielder to pair with Julio Rodriguez and Jarred Kelenic. The 28-year-old slashed a strong .254/.364/.425 with 23 home runs and 22 stolen bases for the Rays this year en route to his first career All Star appearance.
  • The Mets appear focused on improving their run prevention as they enter the winter meetings, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. Sammon notes that in addition to pitching additions, the club is hoping to improve their outfield defense this winter. KBO star Jung Hoo Lee is one player the club has interest in who could do just that, and Sammon suggests that free agent center fielder Michael A. Taylor could be another fit, though the 32-year-old is garnering plenty of interest around the league, per Sammon. Taylor had the strongest offensive season of his career since 2017 with the Twins in 2023, slashing .220/.278/.442 (96 wRC+) while clubbing a career-best 21 home runs in just 388 trips to the plate this year. Sammon goes on to suggest that adding a player who could contribute in center field is the easiest way for the club to improve its defense, as it would allow Brandon Nimmo to slide over to left field more often.
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